Page 189 of Missed Notes (Rixon High 5)

“Shit, Sofe, I didn’t—” Aaron called after me, but I was already gone, hurrying into the Fords’ house.

“Sofia, sweetheart,” Poppy’s mom Felicity looked up from where she was cutting watermelon. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just need to use the bathroom.” I flashed her a weak smile and disappeared down the hall.

I’d barely got the door closed when Cole appeared.

“Sofe, wait.” He curled his hand around the doorjamb.

“I just need a minute.”

“Don’t pay any attention to Aaron. You know he speaks before he thinks sometimes.” Shouldering the door open, he slipped inside, looming over me.

“Do you wish things were different?” I blurted.

Cole let out a steady breath, framing my face in his hands. “Sofia, we’ve been over this. You are and always will be more important to me than the band or football or any of that stuff. I love you.” He brushed his lips over mine.

“I love you too.” I wound my arms around his neck, touching my head to his. “I don’t ever want you to resent—”

“Sofia, listen to me. Do I wish that you hadn’t gotten sick? Fuck, yes. Of course I do. But loving you, choosing you, will never feel like a mistake. I’m excited about what the future holds.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” His thumb grazed my jaw. “The tutoring is going well, and I think I could really build on it. And then as soon as you get the green light from Dr. Jeffries it’s just you, me, Vera, and the open road.”

“I want that,” I whispered. “I really, really want that.”

When Cole had asked me all those months ago to add something to my list for when I got done with treatment, I’d told him to do it.

I’d never in my wildest dreams imagined that he would present me with Vera the day before graduation.

Vera was a VW camper van. A camper van Cole, Aaron, Ezra, and my dad had spent three months restoring. Of course Aaron had named her, and it had stuck.

There had been a lot of tears that day. Not only had I been able to graduate against all odds, but Cole had given me the gift of a future. Together. After everything I’d been through—and with my parents blessing—Cole wanted us to go on an adventure. He wanted me to see things. To experience things.

He wanted me to live.

And despite knowing that Mom and Dad would help us financially, it was important for Cole to contribute. So he’d been giving private guitar lessons for the last four months, saving half of the money for our big adventure, and giving the other half to my parents to help with the groceries.

We still didn’t have a date nailed down—it depended on a lot of things—but it was the goal.

And I couldn’t wait.

Until my jerk of a brother opened his big mouth and reminded me of everything Cole had sacrificed to be with me.

“Cole?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“I really do want you to go to the show tomorrow. I know you were unsure, but you should be there.”

“We’ll see.” He kissed the end of my nose but then fixed his mouth over mine.

“Cole,” I murmured, twisting my fingers into his t-shirt.

His tongue slipped past my lips, tangling with my own. Soft, lazy licks that made my body stir to life. Cole buried his hand in the back of my hair, angling my mouth right where he wanted me as he teased and nipped at my lips. A whimper spilled out of me, and he chuckled.

“God, I love that sound.”

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